This invention pertains to receptacles for beverage containers and, more particularly, to a receptacle that is adjustable for receiving various sizes of beverage containers and that may be attached to a vehicle, such as an automobile.
FIG. 1 is an illustration of a typical prior art, collapsible, vehicular attachable, beverage container receptacle. Referring to this figure, the prior art receptacle 100 includes a base 101, a frame 102 and an arm assembly 103. The base 101 includes two hinge pin holes 104 (only one hole is visible in FIG. 1) for receiving hinge pins 105. Hinge pins 105 are attached to brackets 106 that project out perpendicularly from the frame 102. Each hinge pin hole 104 is surrounded by a raised portion or boss 107. To facilitate attachment of the base 101 to the frame 102, the ends of the hinge pins 105 include a beveled surface 105a, and the bosses 107 include a beveled recess 107a.
The arm assembly 103 includes two hinge pins 108 (only one hinge pin is visible in FIG. 1) and the frame 102 includes mating hinge pin holes 109, which are located in brackets 110 that project out perpendicularly from the frame. To facilitate attachment of the arm assembly 103 to the frame 102, the inner surfaces 110a of the brackets 110 (only one inner surface is visible in FIG. 1) are beveled, and the ends of the hinge pins 108 include a beveled surface 108a.
The frame 102 also includes four cantilever springs, an upper pair 111 and a lower pair 112. The upper pair of cantilever springs 111 holds the arm assembly 103 in the "open" position (the position in which the arm assembly is perpendicular to the frame 102) by placing moderate pressure on the rear surface 103a of the arm assembly. Similarly, the lower pair of springs 112 holds the base 101 in the open position (perpendicular to the frame) by placing moderate pressure on the rear surface 113a of the side 113 of the base.
The receptacle can be "closed" into a compact storage position by, first, folding the arm assembly 103 down against the frame 102. Then, the base 101 is folded up, also against the frame 102, such that the arm assembly is positioned within the four side walls 113-116 of the base. The upper pair of cantilever springs 111 holds the arm assembly 103 in the closed position by placing moderate pressure on the lower edge 103b of the arm assembly. Similarly, the lower pair of cantilever springs 112 holds the base 101 in the closed position by placing moderate pressure on the upper edge 113b of the side 113. The maximum bending of the cantilever springs 111 and 112 occurs when the base 101 and arm assembly 103 are being moved between the open and closed positions. In particular, the springs exert maximum pressure (greater than "moderate") when the base 101 and the arm assembly 103 are approximately midway between the open and closed positions.
The frame 102 includes six holes, e.g., 117, (only five are visible in FIG. 1) are provided for mounting the prior art receptacle through the use of screws or other fasteners. In operation, a beverage container is inserted through the throat opening 118 in the arm assembly 103 and the bottom of the container rests on the base 101. Because the throat opening 118 is fixed in the prior art receptacle 100, there is a limitation as to the size of beverage containers that can be inserted into the receptacle. Although the opening 118 can always be increased to accommodate larger sizes of beverage containers, the throat opening eventually becomes too large to securely hold the smaller size beverage containers.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,828,211 to McConnell, a foldable, adjustable beverage container support is disclosed in which a pair of opposing arms slide from side to side to accommodate various sizes of containers. Each of the arms is positioned within an elongated slot formed in a "track element" such that the movement of the arms is limited by the length of the slots. Each half of the track element includes two opposing legs separated by an elongated slot, and each of the adjustable arms includes opposing, parallel upper and lower channels. The arms are attached to the track element by momentarily spreading the legs and inserting the arm into the slot between the legs such that the legs are positioned in the upper and lower channels. The track element is pivotally attached to a back panel by inserting pintels on the track element into mating holes in ears that extend out from the back panel. Two spring elements are attached to the back panel by a pair of connectors, such as rivets. Each spring element includes a detent which engages one of a plurality of vertical notches in the back of the corresponding arm. When engaged in a particular notch, the spring element holds the arm in its current position. As the arms are moved from side to side, the detent in the spring element engages a different vertical notch in the arm, thereby providing a plurality of predetermined arm positions.
Although the size of the opening between the arms is variable, the primary disadvantage of the McConnell support is that the basic shape of the opening between the arms never changes (it merely gets wider or narrower, depending on the position of the arms). In contrast, the present invention uses pivotal arms and the basic shape of the opening between the pivotal arms changes with arm position. This fundamental change in the shape of the opening permits the present invention to accept a wider range of beverage container sizes than the slidable arms of McConnell.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,511,072 to Owens, two embodiments of an adjustable holder for a drinking cup are disclosed. In the first embodiment, two opposing arms rotate in the vertical plane towards or away from a drinking cup. The lower end of each of the arms includes a wheel that is rotatably attached to a tray. A coil spring, which is positioned within a recess in the tray, forces a ball into one of several notches in the circumference of the wheel. The spring and ball combination holds the arm in one of several predetermined positions. To change the position, the user rotates the arm from one position to another, thereby causing the ball to move from one notch to another. In addition to its complexity, this embodiment of the cup holder is not easily adapted for attachment to the door of an automobile.
In the second embodiment of Owens, a tray is hingedly attached to a bracket. When in use, the tray is horizontal and the bracket vertical. A slidable hangar member is connected to the bracket for attaching the holder to an automobile window structure. Retainer arms are hingedly connected to the bracket and are movable between open and closed modes. In the open mode, the retainer arms are normal to the bracket and, in the closed mode, the arms lay against the bracket. The arms engage a drinking cup, and the bottom of the cup rests on the tray. The retainer arms may be hinged, such that they can be rotated to accommodate different sizes of drinking cups. The primary disadvantage of this particular embodiment is that no mechanism is provided to hold the arms in position.
The present invention overcomes many of the disadvantages of the prior art designs. In addition, the present invention can be entirely manufactured using inexpensive injection molded plastics. Depending on the complexity of the shape of a part to be injection molded, molds can be either "single-action" or "multi-action." In a single-action mold, the two halves of the body of the mold are joined together, hot plastic is injected into the mold under pressure, the molded part hardens, the mold is separated into its two component parts, and the part is removed. As the complexity of the shape of the molded part increases, however, single-action molding is no longer possible, and the manufacturer must resort to a more complex molding process.
In the more complex multi-action molding process, the body of the mold also includes steel inserts, which are inserted into the cavity of the mold after the two halves of the body of the mold are joined together. After the hot plastic is injected into the mold cavity and the molded part hardens, the inserts must be withdrawn before the two halves of the body of the mold body are separated. This increased complexity of the multi-action mold not only increases the manufacturing cost of the mold and decreases its life expectancy, but also increases the manufacturing time of each molded part, thereby increasing the cost of each part. Accordingly, it is a particular object of the present invention to provide an adjustable beverage container receptacle in which the component parts can be plastic injection molded using either single-action molds, or multi-action molds having a minimum number of movable inserts and in which the travel and complexity of the inserts is minimal.